1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to walking sticks. More particularly, the invention relates to hiking staffs that include storage for survival equipment and related items.
2. Background
Hiking typically requires traversing over rough natural terrain such as desert and mountainous environments that require movement around or over rocks, boulders, and gullies. A hiker is often faced with crossing creeks, streams or ravines. Heavy vegetation may also be encountered. Walking sticks and hiking staffs have been used for centuries to aid hikers on treks across all types of terrains.
According to the United States Forest Service's August 2012 Recreation Statistics Update, 81.3 million people participated in day hikes within parks operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many more take hikes in other areas. Increasingly, hiking sticks and/or staffs are used as aids in these outings. In years past, wooden sticks found along trails were the primary source for these walking aids. Often such sticks were carved or decorated and were used repeatedly over time. More recently, fiberglass, aluminum, and other materials have been used in walking sticks. These types of sticks can often be lightweight, of tubular construction, and can provide for adjustments in length. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,348 to Axton and U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,318 to Stuever.
A drawback of wooden sticks is the potential for failure or breakage. Adjustable walking sticks can be subject to slippage; therefore limited weight should be applied to these for support. Conventional walking sticks tend to be short, such as waist high, and while they can provide a light weight support, they lack the ability to provide adequate support when traversing over large objects, through dense vegetation, or when crossing creeks, streams or gullies.
Every year thousands of people get lost while hiking. VIA Magazine, AAA, July/August, 1998. As pointed out in Dooley's U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. U.S. 2005/0211284 A1, many survival devices have been developed to provide aid in keeping one alive until rescued. Most of these, however, including the last above referenced, can be cumbersome such that they are likely to be left behind by a hiker. This is particularly true for ‘day hikers’ who tend to minimize concern for the potential of injury or the likelihood of becoming lost or stranded.
Conventional survival devices also do not include sufficient features for sustaining life for an adequate period of time, such as addressing the need for real shelter or providing alternative ways to secure food and defend oneself from the dangers of the wild. The storage capacity of these survival devices tend to be limited, such that there is not enough storage volume to hold sufficient survival features within the survival device. For example, hikers may need shelter, particularly when they become lost or unexpectedly stranded by weather or other circumstances. While some survival devices have or suggest using a sheet of thin plastic for shelter and a space blanket for cover, both are only token efforts to protect one from the elements in severe situations. None have provisions for support or anchorage of such materials. Similarly, although Haddad's U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2011/0139201 A1 teaches a walking stick comprising a defensive weapon, the weapon's practicality is limited for emergency use. It also lacks alternative applications, which can be important because the need for minimum weight is a major factor in practical use of a survival device such as a hiking staff. Concern for weight is also an issue when attempting to include multiple electronic devices in the storage capacity of a survival device, especially when such items are often already included in cell phones and GPS units used by today's hikers. The additional weight of these electronic components in a hiking staff carried in the hand would be wearisome, and therefore, they are not practically contained in a trekking staff.
What is needed is a survival device in the shape of a hiking stick or staff that can carry survival gear inside it and be readily available to the average hiker. Unlike hiking staffs such as the one disclosed in Haddad's U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2011/0139201 A1, the hiking staff should carry survival gear inside the staff such that the survival gear can be protected from the elements until they are needed. The hiking staff should be strong yet light in weight, require minimal fabrication or milling, and should not require special knowledge to use. It should demand little maintenance, have no recharge requirements, and be ‘ready to go’ at a moment's notice.